1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatuses for the cleaning of teeth, and more particularly, to an apparatus for personal dental care employing ultrasonic energy wherein the toothbrush implement may be readily removed and exchanged.
2. Discussion of the Relevant Art
It has been established that significant benefits are derived from regular dental care performed in the home by the individual himself together with periodic examination and treatment by professionally trained dentists. It is universally recognized, for example, that regular brushing of the teeth, particularly after every meal, serves to dislodge food particles which ordinarily are retained adjacent the teeth and which, if allowed to remain, would cause decay and dental caries. When properly administered, regular brushing also services to maintain good circulation in gingival tissue, thereby lessening the likelihood of gingival disease, one of the prime causes of premature loss of teeth. Perhaps of less, but nevertheless significant, importance are the stain removal and brightening actions resulting from regular brushing, which contribute noticeably to the appearance of the individual.
The present invention has found that, when applied under proper control to tooth and gingival surfaces in the human mouth, ultrasonic energy may be successfully employed for regular oral hygienic care without any damage to tooth surfaces or gingival tissues. These ultrasonic cleaning techniques provide a significantly increased cleaning ability, particularly in the interproximal and gum line areas where presently known brushing techniques are inadequate. Briefly, in accordance with the present invention, a cleaning member or oral contact portion, which preferably includes a plurality of individual cleaning elements, such as the bristles on a brush, is vibrated at an ultrasonic rate and manually moved over tooth and gingival surfaces under relatively light pressure.
Although not necessarily limited thereto, the combined ultrasonic and manual movement of the cleaning member may be performed in the presence of a fluid, such as water added specifically for the purpose, or the natural fluids present in the human mouth and in the presence of dentifrices such as toothpaste. The unique properties displayed at the tips of an ultrasonically vibrating member such as a brush, enable greatly improved cleaning results to be achieved, particularly in areas where manual or conventional motor driven toothbrushes cannot reach. The ultrasonic energy is applied to the tooth and gingival surfaces such that no damage whatsoever to the surfaces will result. On the other hand, because of the greatly improved cleaning power, the buildup of tartar and scale deposits in the interproximal and gingival areas is significantly lessened, promoting a much higher degree of dental health than is possible with ordinary methods of dental hygienic care.
The art includes many different devices designed specifically to provide a means for dislodging food particles which may be retained between the teeth or removing deposits of plaque, tartar and scale occurring on the teeth. However, it appears that none of the devices in the prior art utilize an ultrasonic driving motor, that is a motor having vibratory output energy between 20,000 and 50,000 cycles per second (20-50 KHz) that are capable of transferring this ultrasonic vibratory force to the appliance or implement such as a toothbrush or other element, that is the utilizer of this energy, while permanently affixing the magnetostrictive or piezoelectric component to the appliance and permitting ready interchangeability of the toothbrush assembly or other element in a convenient manner for the end user.
Thus, when it becomes necessary to exchange the appliance, such as a toothbrush, so that different individuals utilizing the apparatus may readily utilize their own toothbrush or the toothbrush has to be replaced due to wear, it is ideal to change the toothbrush together with the magnetostrictive component, which forms a unitary assembly. In this way the vibratory forces can be transferred from the ultrasonic power source to the toothbrush, instrument, tool, etc. However, for individuals to use an ultrasonic toothbrush they must be able to exchange the toothbrush implement with ease and a minimal amount of force. Young children must be able to exchange the toothbrush implement with ease if the apparatus is to become popular.
Heretofore, one was not able to rigidly and removably mount a sealed exchangeable ultrasonic implement to ultrasonic power means wherein the vibratory energy may be transmitted to the toothbrush. The instant invention overcomes the shortcomings known in the prior art by providing a sealed ultrasonic power source and a sealed ultrasonic implement including a magnetostrictive element and toothbrush which may be quickly connected and disconnected to the ultrasonic power source with a relatively small separating force therebetween.